VIP Treatment at Local Hospital. Johor Bahru, Malaysia!
Peregrina's Journey
Peter and Margie Benziger
Mon 28 May 2012 07:10
01:28.28N 103:43.39E
VIP Treatment at the
Local Hospital
Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Johor Bahru, Malaysia
While
we were in Johor Bahru, the second largest city in Malaysia and the capital of
Johor Province, I thought that I would try to go to the hospital to get a blood
test. My white blood cell count was low
back in February when I had my annual check-up in Miami. My doctor told me that it wasn’t a major
concern but she did want me to get my blood tested periodically just to make
sure the numbers didn’t fall precipitously.
So,
Peter and I set off on a mission to find Johor Specialist Hospital which, we
had been told, was the best hospital in the city and where we could find physicians
and staff who spoke English. Apparently,
the hospital was several miles away so we were instructed to hail a
cab.
Just
as we made it out to the busy highway in front of the marina, the skies opened
up and it started to pour. Cab after cab
passed us by with passengers sitting nice and dry while we were getting
soaked! Finally, I saw a bus approaching
with the word “Hospital” on the outside marquee.
At
that point, ANY hospital was better than none and, after all, it was just a
simple blood test. How complicated could that be? So we hopped on board
and a few minutes later, the driver pulled over to a bus stop and pointed up
the hill to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital.
We
walked up the hill and were confronted by a barrage of signage, all in Malay,
with arrows pointing in every possible direction. It was a massive hospital and we had no idea
where the main entrance was located. We
wandered about for awhile until we met several nurses coming out of
a building.
Turns out, we were in the
staff parking lot! They
kindly showed us a door, chuckling at the sight of two hapless “farangs” (foreigners)
bumbling around the outskirts of the hospital grounds.
After a circuitous walk through the bowels of
the building, we found ourselves in a long corridor leading to what looked like
a general reception area. As we approached the lobby, I realized that there
were HUNDREDS of people milling around waiting for their name or number to be
called. Turns out, Sultanah Aminah is a
government hospital and I could see that this might be a very LONG day…
But,
just to be sure, we asked a nurse walking by us where we should go to get a
blood test? Her English was limited and she
directed us to the Blood Transfusion Center which was, serendipitously, right across the hall. I guess she thought I wanted to DONATE my
blood! Just like these nice people were doing...
In the end, this turned out to be
a really “helpful accident” because,
after presenting my doctor’s prescription for a blood test to the wide-eyed
assistant who disappeared immediately, we were introduced to a young man, Dr.
Mohammad Hanif Tarmidi, a researcher in hematology who spoke perfect English!
Dr.
Tarmidi explained that we needed to go to the Hematology “Klinik” and offered
to show us the way. We gladly accepted
and off we marched, right past the chaos of the general reception area, turning
right then left a dizzying number of times and finally reaching the “Klinik” which
was definitely “Tutup” (closed) even through the sign said “Buka” which means
open.
Not to be deterred, Dr. Tarmidi
found his way in a side door and after several minutes emerged to say that we
would need to go to the Hematology “Wad” (ward) which was in a building further
up the hill.
Without
breaking stride, he marched us outside, hailed a cab, gave the driver instructions
to the aforementioned Hematology Wad and we jumped in the back. As Peter began to roll down the window to
extend our thanks, he opened the front door and took a seat next to the
driver! He actually accompanied us to Hematology Wad, which was part of the original hospital built over a hundred years ago. Upon arrival, he even
insisted on PAYING the 4 ringgit charge for the ride!
Dr.
Tarmidi then took my prescription, filled out a number of Malaysian forms for
me and ducked in and out of a series of offices while we sat in the corridor to
the fascination of several Malaysian men and women waiting their turn. I began to realize what an unusual occurrence
our presence had created when a number of doctors emerged from their offices to
shake our hands!
Finally,
a young doctor came out to say that the test that I needed couldn’t be
performed there so he was sending us BACK down to the Emergency Room of the
main hospital! This was becoming quite
an odyssey and we marveled at the fact that Dr. Tarmidi never left our side. What doctor in the States would EVER take
such an interest in a foreigner trying to negotiate his/her way about an
American hospital?
I
was getting a little anxious about the prospect of walking into the Emergency
Room as I don’t do well with lots of blood and broken bodies. Luckily, again, Dr. Tarmidi steered us into
“Secondary Triage” where the less urgent medical cases were treated and, once
again, Peter and I were seated, right up at the front of the line, while Dr. Tarmidi
went off in search of a technician to take my blood. He came back a few minutes later with
“Jennifer” who he claimed was “the best of the best.” I was grateful for that as my veins are
notoriously reluctant to pop up well enough for anyone to insert a needle on
the first attempt and I usually end up with a “black and blue” the size of an
orange inside my elbow after multiple stabbings.
Not
this time, though! Jennifer zoomed in on that little sucker and before you
could say, “Make a fist” she had the tube filled with my B-Positive and a
little round “plaster” (band-aid) affixed in the crux of my arm. However, as you can see below, I did hold on to Dr. Tarmidi for moral support.
From
there, the good Dr. Tarmidi escorted us to a waiting area where we could buy
our lunch and wait for the results. We
sat down next to a man and a woman in bright purple overalls I thought they were municipal workers but
when they stood up, (along with their plain-clothed escorts) they had POLIS written
on the back of their outfits and they were handcuffed and manacled! (I didn't have the nerve to take their picture. You'll just have to envision a Malaysian version of Bonnie
and Clyde!) As I said, this was a
government hospital so all sorts of interesting characters were wandering
about…including us two fair-skinned Americans who stood out like sore thumbs!
Anyway,
Dr. Tarmidi appeared with my test results after less than 30 minutes! He sat with us and looked over the numbers
which were, happily, a bit higher than originally reported in Miami so he
assured me that I was “good to go” ahead with our sailing adventure and wished
us a safe journey.
What
about the cost you are probably wondering?
We, too, were concerned about what we would have to pay in exchange for blood
work which, in the States, would be two or three hundred dollars – not to
mention 4 hours of this wonderful man’s time!
But, it turns out that, at Sultanah Arminah, everything is absolutely
FREE!
WAHOO!!!
We got back on the bus and made it back to
the marina in time to catch the late afternoon high tide and headed back down
towards Singapore and the South China Sea to start our East Malaysian sailing
adventure!